Study Questions

1

What type of politician was Roosevelt?
Did he hold the same political views consistently throughout his
career?

Although Theodore Roosevelt was a member
of the Republican Party for the majority of his life, he is best
described as a Progressive. Progressives were politicians and activists
who sought change in government and society. Roosevelt's zeal for
reform was one of his defining political traits that lasted throughout
his career. When he served in the New York State Assembly in 1882–1884,
he became famous for fighting against the state's powerful political machines.
As head of the U.S. Civil Service Commission and as Governor of
New York, he angered many conservatives while attempting to reform
the spoils system. As President, he had the ability to challenge
the status quo to an even greater extent. Just several weeks after
his inauguration, he began prosecuting big business under the 1890
Sherman Act, a task no one had successfully accomplished before.
His first success came against Northern Securities, a railroad
monopoly in the West. Once Northern Securities fell, others trusts
began to topple. Roosevelt's two administrations filed forty-three
lawsuits against the trusts, and Teddy quickly earned the nickname
"the Great Trustbuster." He further angered conservatives with
his conservation plans to save millions of acres of timberland
and establish preserves to save wildlife. As the Progressive Party
candidate for President in 1912, Roosevelt continued to pursue
reform with his Square Deal policies. Roosevelt was a true Progressive
and consistently fought for reform throughout his career.

2

What experiences in Roosevelt's youth
helped shape his personality and character?

Many experiences in Roosevelt's younger life
contributed significantly to the development of his character.
When he was a small child, he suffered from severe asthma. While
other children played outdoors, Teddy was often confined inside,
turning to books to keep him occupied. He loved to read adventure
stories of far-off places, began to explore natural history and,
asthma permitting, went outside as much as possible.

Theodore and his family traveled to Europe and the Middle
East when he was ten and again when he was fourteen. Thrilled by
the romanticism and wonders of Egypt, he retained a love of adventure throughout
his life. As a young man, he lived in the rough Dakota Territory
to challenge his physical stamina. During the Spanish-American
War he volunteered to lead the Rough Riders and led his troops
through heavy fire to take San Juan Hill. Even in his late fifties
he managed to safari through Africa and lead an exploratory exploration
through the Amazon, both to collect scientific specimens for the
Museum of Natural History in New York and to prove he still had
his strength.

Roosevelt also exhibited a strong sense of morality, a
trait learned from his father. Throughout his political career
he interpreted everything as morally right or wrong and acted accordingly. He
crusaded for political reforms in New York because he deemed them
wrong, and prosecuted the trusts because he deemed their business
practices wrong. He also believed the United States should enter
the Spanish-American War and World War I at least partly because
he saw Spain and Germany as aggressors whose misdeeds required
correction. We see, then, that early childhood experiences and
influences contributed significantly to Teddy Roosevelt's robust
personality.

3

How did Roosevelt view foreign policy?
What type of role did he believe the U.S. should take in global
politics?

In the arena of foreign policy, Roosevelt
can be best described as an imperialist. Drawing upon ideas published
in Alfred T. Mahan's book The History of Sea Power Upon
History, Roosevelt believed that the United States should
acquire ports and territories throughout the world to serve as
naval bases to exert American influence and also as commercial outlets
for American products. His first book, A History of the
Naval War of 1812, advocated military preparedness at
all times. As Assistant Secretary of the Navy, he prepared the
Navy for war with Spain and persuaded others in the government
that Spanish presence should be eradicated from Latin America.
As President, Roosevelt enforced this belief when he issued a statement
claiming that the United States had the sole authority to interfere
in the affairs of the Latin American states and that only the U.S.
could punish these states if they misbehaved. This statement later
came to be known as the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine.

People referred to Roosevelt's forceful style of foreign
policy as Big Stick Diplomacy, which primarily involved threatening
others to concede to America's demands. He favored the annexation
of the Philippines and Puerto Rico and supported the Open Door
Policy in China. In the 1912 Presidential campaign he proposed
his foreign policy program, known as New Nationalism. Later, when
the Germans attacked and sank the Lusitania, Roosevelt
verbally attacked President Wilson for not declaring war. On the
whole, Roosevelt throughout his career strongly believed in a strong
military and exerting American dominance across the globe.